Iowa Cubs

The Iowas Cubs were stopped by the Round Rock Express (Rangers), 3-0.

Barret Loux had five scoreless innings and only gave up three hits. It would have been more impressive if he hadn't walked five batters. Loux did strike out five as well.

Brian Schlitter pitched one inning, the bottom of the eighth, and gave up all the runs in this game on a three-run home run by Mike Olt. Schlitter gave up three hits. He neither walked nor struck anyone out.

Second baseman Logan Watkins had two of Iowa's four hits on the night in a 2 for 4 effort. He also stole a base. Third baseman Josh Vitters was 1 for 2 with a walk.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies made six errors en route to a 8-1 shellacking by the Jacksonville Suns (Marlins).

Starter A.J. Morris got the loss after allowing five runs on ten hits over five innings. Only two of the five runs were earned. Morris got one strikeout and walked one.

Tonight I'm going to list the six players who each made one error: Rubi Silva, Arismendy Alcantara, A.J. Morris, Justin Bour, Matthew Szczur and Javier Baez.

Alcantara, Baez and Silva were each 1 for 4 with a double. That was all of Tennessee's three hits. Alcantara scored the lone Tennessee run.

Daytona Cubs

The Daytona Cubs were beaten by the St. Lucie Mets, 7-5 in a game that was delayed by rain for 2 hours and 44 minutes and lasted until 12:30 am local time. (They even started the game an hour early.)

Starter Ben Wells pitched the first four innings and allowed three runs on five hits, including a two-run home run. Wells walked four and struck out three.

Yao-Lin Wang took his third loss when he allowed three runs in three innings in relief of Wells. Wang was touched for four hits. He walked two and struck out two.

Daytona managed to score five runs on only seven hits, partially thanks to six walks. Left fielder Zeke DeVoss went 2 for 3 with two walks and two stolen bases. He scored twice.

Tonight's marathon came the day after a Daytona game ended in a tie when it ran into the 12:50am Florida State League curfew.

Kane County Cougars

The Kane County Cougars stripped the Lansing Lugnuts (Blue Jays) 6-5 in ten innings.

Tayler Scott came off the DL and pitched the first six innings. He allowed three runs, two earned, on eight hits. He walked one and struck out one.

Michael Hamann threw the ninth and tenth innings without allowing a run and picked up his first professional win. He surrendered three hits and he walked one. Hamann did not strike anyone out.

DH Daniel Vogelbachsent the 5,226 fans at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark home happy with a walk-off single in the bottom of the tenth, scoring right fielder Reggie Golden. Vogelbach was 2 for 4 with a walk and two runs batted in.

Golden was 2 for 5 with a double in the tenth and his fourth home run of the season in the second inning. Golden had one RBI and scored twice.

Second baseman Gioskar Amaya went a perfect 4 for 4 with a walk and a stolen base. He scored once.

Center fielder Albert Almora was 3 for 5 with a triple and a walk. He scored one run and had one batted in.

Third baseman Jeimer Candelario was 2 for 4 with a double and a walk. He scored one run.

Boise Hawks

The Boise Hawks got back on the winning track with a 7-0 shutout of the Everett AquaSox (Mariners),

It was an great start for James Pugliese, who improved his record to 3-2 with five scoreless innings. Pugliese gave up only two hits. He didn't walk anyone and he struck out three. Pugliese now has a 13 inning scoreless streak.

Center fielder Shawon Dunston was 4 for 5 and had two RBI. Catcher Lance Rymel was 2 for 4 with a walk and scored two runs.

First baseman Cael Brockmeyer had a triple and a walk in a 2 for 3 effort. He scored twice and had one run batted in. He was also hit by a pitch.

Left fielder David Bote was 2 for 3 with a double and three RBI. Third baseman Jordan Hankins went 3 for 4 and scored twice.

AZL Cubs

Lost to the Dodgers, 10-9 in ten innings.

David DeJesus was 1 for 4 with a double.

Greg Rohan was 1 for 4 with a double in his 2013 debut.

Kris Bryant made his professional debut and was 0 for 3 with three errors. It's all up from here, Kris.

Is Matt Garza still a Cub?

• As the trade deadline nears, more rumors start flying. Francisco Rodriguez has revived his career in Milwaukee and now three teams, the Dodgers, Tigers and Red Sox, are interested in acquiring him for the stretch drive.
• Brewers and former Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez comes off the DL on Monday, and the Red Sox and Yankeesare both interested in trading for him.
• Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholzis going to see Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion on his shoulder. That's bad news for Boston. Remember my rule of thumb: no baseball player ever gets a second opinion if the first one was good. That's especially true if the second opinion is from Dr. Andrews.
• What does this have to do with trades? Well, if Buchholtz is healthy, the Red Sox aren't interested in picking up another pitcher. But if he's not . . .
• I try to stay away from Cubs news, but Jay Jaffe lists six Cubs not named Matt Garza who are likely to be dealt. I think he has some sort of quota of names that he had to list and ran out early because he names five sensible names and then mentions Starlin Castro. OK, he does admit he's the least likely name on the list to be dealt.
• Ken Rosenthal thinks the Philliesneed to face reality and sell off their high-priced veterans. The Phillies are where the Cubs were three years ago. Except the Cubs didn't have a World Series Championship six years previous.
• Rosenthal also says that the Red Sox are rushing to get Dustin Pedroia signed to a long-term deal (even though he's under contract until 2015) because they don't want Robinson Cano's next contract to set the market for Pedroia.
• Alex Rodriguez was supposed to come off the DL today, but instead he has a grade 1 quad strain.
• Jon Paul Morosi thinks this is bad for ARod. Not just because he's hurt, but because this may have been Rodriguez's last chance to get back in the good graces of the Yankees and their fans.
• The Marlinshaven't scored in 37 innings, the longest streak since the 1985 Astros. Surprisingly, the '85 Astros won 83 games and were second in the NL in scoring that season. The Astros ran into Ed Lynch, Doc Gooden, Joe Hesketh, Jeff Reardon, Bryn Smith and Bill Gillickson at the Astrodome and Olympic Stadium. One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong. . .
• The Mariners only got one hit yesterday, but they still managed to score four runs off the Astros and win 4-2.
• Erik Bedard started that game and pulled himself from the game after 6.1 innings without allowing a hit. Bedard's reasoning was that he was at 109 pitches and with his injury history, it just wasn't worth it to risk his health for a no-hitter in a pretty meaningless game in the larger scheme of things. I actually think that shows some intelligence and courage, although I'm sure he'll be criticized for it. As far as pitch counts go, more on that later. Bedard ended up getting the loss.
• More bad Astros news: Center fielder Brandon Barneshit for the cycle on Saturday. The Astros still lost.
• The Astros DFA'd a couple of ex-Cubs: Carlos Pena and Ronny Cedeno.
• Tommy Rancel thinks RaysChris Archeris a pitcher on the verge of a breakout. He also mentions Jeff Locke and Tyler Chatwood in similar terms. Boy, that Archer kid sounds like the type of guy we'd like to trade Garza for. OK, it's not like Garza hasn't been good for the Cubs.
• Baseball's reigning ironman is Prince Fielder, who has played 440 straight games. He only missed one game in the past 767 games because of a bad case of the flu. He explains that it was a stern look from his dad as a kid that makes him never take a day off.
• Matt Harveythinks ESPN embarrassed him. And not for posting naked pictures of him. He's OK with that. And apparently not because they let Around the Horn on the air, either.
• Blue Jays hurler Mark Buehrle says "Maybe we were overrated."
• Expos fans attended Sunday's game at the Rogers Centre to campaign for a return of baseball to Montreal. I'd be a lot more supportive of them (and I do support them) if I wasn't positive that they would want a return of the name "Expos" and their "ELB" logo.
• Christina Kahrl notes that Mike Troutis having just as good a season this year as last. There can be no doubts about his talent anymore.
• The Twins owners are arguing that they're team is worth a lot less than people claim. Of course, the people who they're arguing with are the IRS and they've just gotten a big tax bill. But does anyone seriously think that controlling interest in the Twins in 2009 was only worth $24 million like the Pohlads claim? Certainly the IRS isn't buying it. MLS teams sell for more than that.
• Wrigley Field isn't the only park with a bird problem. In fact, they don't even have the worst problem. The seagulls at AT&T Park have become a real problem. There is no legal way to get rid of them short of hiring a falconer, and that would cost around $8000 a game. (But seriously. Falconers get $8000 a day? I went into the wrong profession.)
• Terry Francona is not moving Nick Swisher out of the cleanup spot. At least not for now.
• The Diamondbacks are slumping. They're not getting the clutch hitting that they were earlier this season. Wow. All those guys who were clutch before aren't anymore. It's almost like it's not a real skill.
• Scott Miller looks back at the life of Bud Selig and the impact he's had on the game.
• Yoenis Cespedeshasn't played since winning the HR derby. He has a sore wrist. He might take batting practice today and see how he feels.
• Finally, the next time you scream at Dusty Baker for ruining Mark Prior's career (and honestly, we don't know that he did that), consider the case of Tomohiro Anraku. Last year, the 16-year-old Japanese phenom threw 772 pitches in five games over nine days. Then his arm gave out. It's a long article worth reading from ESPN the Magazine that illustrated the differences between American and Japanese culture. Not just baseball culture, but a lot more than that. For Americans, the solution to his arm problems are rest and maybe surgery. For the Japanese, the answer is that he needs to throw some more.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.

Josh Johnson goes up against Hyun-Jin Ryu tonight in a little bit of interleague action with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ryu, a 26-year-old left hander, came over from Korea this off-season after his old team the Hanwha Eagles accepted a rumoured bid of $25,737,737.33 from the Dodgers. After agreeing to a six-year $36 million contract Ryu was all set for his Major League career to begin. His season has been a bigger success than expected, with Ryu starting 18 games currently having an ERA of 3.09 and a FIP of 3.57. Nothing too crazy stands out about his line and his rookie season has been overshadowed a bit by the emergence of Yasiel Puig as a possible superstar in the near future.

Before Ryu came over, many scouts were not sold on Ryu including Keith Law:

via d3j5vwomefv46c.cloudfront.net

Hyun-Jin Ryu throws the four main pitches, mainly focusing on the fastball-changeup combination as left-handed pitchers often do. His fastball velocity was always a big question mark and he's sat in the low 90's this year, which is a little bit higher than people even thought it would be when he was signed.

GIF's of his delivery are hard to come by, but there is this:

via images.ftw.usatoday.com

Clayton Kershaw and Ryu seem to have got the dance moves down, but what on earth is Matt Kemp doing. That's a strange interpretation of that dance move.

In a small sample of half a season Ryu has been hit a lot harder by same handed batters (.349 wOBA) over right handed hitters (.274 wOBA). This makes sense, regardless of the sample size though, as Ryu's great changeup would be much more difficult for opposite handed hitters to get a piece of. In fact, against left handed hitters Ryu is basically reduced to a fastball-slider combination leaving his best pitch out of the equation.

That being said, the lineup for today should be:

1. Reyes SS
2. Bautista RF
3. Encarnacion DH
4. Lind 1B
5. Cabrera LF
6. Rasmus CF
7. Izturis 2B
8. Lawrie 3B
9. Arencibia C

Enjoy the game tonight. If you're looking for a fun playoff team to start cheering for, the Dodgers would be a very good choice.

J.P. Arencibia has been complaining to the media about about how mean Gregg Zaun and Dirk Hayhurst are, yet again.

Now, the first time he popped off about how terrible he was being treated in the media, I wrote it off to blowing off steam. Everyone's allowed to do that, once. I didn't like the way he tried to make it sound like he was talking for his teammates and I thought the comments about Zaun's PED history were below the belt, but all-in-all, I generally think we all deserve to blow off steam occasionally. I've done it, I'm sure you've done it. Generally, we don't do it on the radio but still, we all need to let off steam. JP has never really had to deal with failure before, it's tough, especially in front of millions of people.

When he's at it again, two weeks later, on MLB Radio, no less....I have far less patience for it. It shows that he is fixating on this. It's been a tough season, but JP should have better things to do with his time than to worry about what some talking heads are saying. Honestly JP, you said your piece a couple of weeks ago, now shut up about it.

The fourth-year backstop joined "Inside Pitch" with Casey Stern and Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio on Friday and said certain members of the media "that we employ" are too negative.

"We employ". If I was Zaun I'd go ask JP for a raise.

Of course there is no part of a 'we' that includes Arencibia who employs Gregg and Dirk. Now, I don't expect a major league catcher to understand how a large company like Rogers works but I would expect someone would tell him that he isn't the boss of every Rogers employee.

But the best part about his rant, this time, is this:

I talked to our president about the issue [and asked], "How do you build a fan base when everything that fans are hearing is negative? You don't build a fan base just by having somebody who works for you throw out negative stuff all day long.

He went to Paul Beeston to complain about Zaun and Hayhurst? Isn't that the equivalent of running to daddy to whine that someone was mean too you? Can you imagine being Beeston? Your secretary buzzes you, "Paul there is a Mr. Arencibia here to see you". He comes in and asks you to fire two people that aren't your employees, and you have to spend your time explaining how a corporation works, when you'd much rather be out golfing.

And, really, the bad part isn't that he went to Beeston, though that's incredibly dumb. The bad part is that he tells the media that he did it. Isn't that something that you wouldn't want to have come out in the media? You want everyone to know that you went whining to daddy that people were being mean to you and you want them beaten up?

It really is time for JP to grow up, to concentrate on baseball, to prove Gregg and Dirk wrong on the field. That's where his talking should be done, on the field. If you have a .253 OBP, you really have have to expect people to criticize you. I have an idea, play good and they won't criticize.

Maybe now is the time that John Gibbons could go over to JP, quietly and away from microphones, and tell him to stop this crap and start worrying about keeping his job.

The Dodgers open up a three-game series against the Blue Jays at Rogers Center on Monday night. Here is a look at the television schedule and starting pitching matchups for the interleague series.

Monday, 4:07 p.m. (KCAL)

Hyun-jin Ryu had his run of eight straight quality starts snapped on July 10 against the Rockies, and he gets a full 11 days rest in between then and the series opener in Toronto. Ryu is 3-2 with a 4.42 ERA in nine road starts this season, with 44 strikeouts and 22 walks in 55 innings. Josh Johnson has allowed 20 runs and 32 hits in 21⅓ innings over his last four starts, all Toronto losses.

Tuesday, 4:07 p.m. (KCAL)

Chris Capuano's last 10 starts since joining the rotation in May have been very hit or miss. In five starts he has allowed zero or one run, with two runs total in 31 innings, with 29 strikeouts and one walk. In the other five starts during that span, Capuano has allowed 28 runs in 22⅔ innings, with 15 strikeouts and 11 walks. Todd Redmond is a 28-year-old minor league journeyman who since joining the rotation has allowed five runs in nine innings over two starts, with 10 strikeouts, four walks and three home runs allowed.

Wednesday, 4:07 p.m. (KCAL)

Ricky Nolasco makes his fourth start as a Dodger in the series finale. He has allowed 26 runners to reach base in 17⅓ innings but so far only six have scored. He has made one career start against the Blue Jays, with two runs allowed in six innings, with nine strikeouts in a no-decision in 2009 in Toronto. Esmil Rogers, the former Rockies hurler, began the season in the Toronto bullpen but since joining the rotation for good has a 3.88 ERA and has allowed two earned runs or less in five of his eight starts. The one bugaboo for Rogers is his eight home runs allowed in just 46⅓ innings over those last eight starts.

There can be no doubt that the baseball the Blue Jays have played since the All-Star Break has been very difficult to watch. This team seems to miss scoring chances again and again and again and fall just short at the least opportune times. There is a very negative feel lately in the twitterverse and the thought is that these guys just can't get it done when it matters most. Now, we could have a lengthy argument over the idea of "clutchness" and whether it is a skill or merely a product of random sequencing but that's not what I'm looking to get into today. My question is simply whether the criticism of the Jays inability to hit with runners in scoring position is fair or accurate. It is my feeling that it is not. In fact, harping on an issue like this is exactly the sort of thing that I often find very frustrating about mainstream media types who are hungry for a story and trying to feed off the emotions of their audience but failing to do their due diligence when it comes to the facts. So today I'm looking the facts, not the depressing things that my eyes tell me.

The first way to look at this is on a team level. What needs to be examined is how the Blue Jays hit in general compared to how they hit with runners in scoring position. The chart below looks at that and also looks at how they rank in both of these areas league wide by putting their MLB rank in each category in brackets.

Although their league ranking goes down in a couple of categories when this team is hitting in RISP, overall the output is better is both compared to the Blue Jays total production and relative to other teams in the league in the same situation. So where is the opposite notion coming from? Are some of the Blue Jays players in particular failing in this situation leaving a vivid imagine in our mind? The chart below shows the difference between how individual hitters have hit with RISP position as opposed to their season totals. I only used players qualifying for this chart because these are the guys who have seen the most plate appearances in both RISP and non-RISP situations.

Arencibia and Izturis have been disastrous with runners in scoring position but the top four hitters in the middle of this order have actually been significantly better in those plate appearances. It seems that this myth has arisen from the frustration of watching J.P. Arencibia flail away an opportunity at runs one too many times. I understand that sentiment and I can sympathize with it but as fans we need to understand that sometimes that things aren't all the appear to be and our emotions and frustrations can cloud our judgment and ability to make accurate analyses.

2013 continues to be a very difficult year for the Blue Jays and those that follow them but there is no need to create issues where none exist. There are plenty of legitimate problems with this team to go around, more than enough to fill newspapers, blogs and radio programs. If people insist on writing negative things about the Blue Jays, which despite J.P. Arencibia's protestations is only fair, they should turn their attention elsewhere. The reality of the situation is that there's nothing to see here. Now, about those starting pitchers....

It was 7 years ago today (really? that long ago?) that the Toronto Blue Jays traded Shea Hillenbrand and Vinnie Chulk to the San Francisco Giants, getting Jeremy Accardo back.

Jeremy was our closer for the 2007 season, picking up 30 saves (and people wonder why folks say the save stat overrated). After that there were some injury problems and some crappy pitching troubles. He spent parts of 5 seasons with the Jays, putting up a 3.67 ERA, with 35 saves in 72 games, 139.2 innings, 57 walks and 97 strikeouts. Since then 4 different teams have tried to see if he could regain ability that allowed him to rack up 30 saves.

Hillenbrand finished out the 2006 season with the Giants, hitting .251/.270/.330 for them and then went on to play for the Angels and the Dodgers, the next season, hitting much the same. It turned out to be the right moment to trade Shea. Chulk was ok for the Giants for parts of the next 3 seasons, having a 4.29 ERA in 112 games, 107 innings, 37 walks, 82 strikeouts. He went on to Cleveland and pitched in a handful of games for the Brewers in 2012.

But the trade wasn't the real story.

As you all likely remember, a couple of days before the trade, someone wrote on the clubhouse bulletin board "play for yourself" and the "sink was sinking". That someone turned out to be our friend Shea. Shea wasn't happy. After being a full time player in 2005, splitting time between first, third and DH. He was playing less in 2006, and mostly at DH. The team had picked up Troy Glaus and Lyle Overbay in the previous off-season. Shea wasn't the greatest of guys and a drop in playing time didn't help his personality. Then teammate Gregg Zaun called him a cancer in the clubhouse. Zaun said that he told the team:

"In our players' meeting I did tell the entire group, 'Do not let your personality be dictated by whether or not you're in the lineup every day,'"

So, Shea writes that on the board and once-and-future manager John Gibbons was a little less than pleased. He challenged Shea to a fight. Now there is leadership for you. In reality, he had put up with way too much crap from Hillenbrand before that.

Clearly, Shea had to go and, considering he had to be traded, J.P. Ricciardi got a pretty decent return. The Jays would go on to finish with a 87-75 record (wouldn't we love this season to 'sink' to that record), good for 2nd place in the AL East, 10 games behind the Yankees. We haven't made it to 87 wins since.

Gibbons would continue to manage the Blue Jays until about the mid-point of the 2008 season, but that moment was the memorable moment of his first tour with the team.

The Dodgers open up a series against the Blue Jays on Monday night at Rogers Centre, but will do so without Matt Kemp in the lineup. Kemp, who injured his left ankle in the ninth inning of Sunday's win in Washington, is out of the starting lineup one day after returning from the disabled list.

Yasiel Puig, after sitting on Sunday in an 0-for-11 slump, gets the start in center field against the Jays on Monday night, his second start at the position. Puig, who is batting second on Monday night, played the bottom of the ninth inning in right field on Sunday after Kemp exited the game.

Andre Ethier will serve as the designated hitter, and is 8-for-15 with two doubles and two walks against Blue Jays starter Josh Johnson. Skip Schumaker, who is 4-for-10 against Johnson, gets the start in right field.

Hyun-jin Ryu is coming off his worst start as a Dodger, when he allowed five runs in five innings on July 10 in Arizona. That ended a run of eight straight quality starts and was just the second time in 18 starts Ryu failed to last at least six innings.

Ryu when getting more than four days rest this season is 4-2 with a 2.73 ERA in nine starts with 48 strikeouts and 17 walks in 59⅓ innings. On Monday, Ryu is pitching on 11 days rest.

Game info

Time: 4:07 p.m.

TV: KCAL

MLB Gameday

There is a lot of baseball news today, so I thought I'd put it all in one post.

The MLB has suspended the Brewer's Ryan Braun for the remainder of the season for his involvement with the Biogenisis scandal. This is the only suspension announced at the moment, but I'd imagine there are more to come. I don't know what this suggests for Melky Cabrera, I've been under the impression that Melky would't be suspended, since he was suspended last year for the same crime. I'll admit, I'm not thrilled with the idea of each player being suspended separately.

Braun beat his last suspension on a technicality and told everyone that he had never used PEDs. Now, well, he's admitting he has:

"I realize now that I have made some mistakes. I am willing to accept the consequences of those actions. I wish to apologize to ... all of the baseball fans especially those in Milwaukee, the great Brewers organization, and my teammates."

No apology for the earlier lies?

The Rangers have traded for Matt Garza (I'm happy it wasn't the Jays), giving the Cubs Mike Olt, C.J. Edwards and Justin Grimm. I wish we could get that sort of return for Josh Johnson.

Brett Lawrie is playing second base tonight. Yeah, I hate the idea of him at second but I hate even more them moving him back and forth between the two spots. Pick one and leave him there. Make up your damn minds about where you want him and just leave him.

The Jays have released Claudio Vargas and Eugenio Velez, to make room at Buffalo for Moises Sierra (coming off the DL) and Neil Wagner (coming down from Toronto). A lot of figured that Vargas should have had a turn at the Blue Jay's rotation, when Ricky Romero was called up. I think that was his moment, and it passed and he never got his chance.

Buffalo has Romero starting tonight and J.A. Happ tomorrow.

Use the thread to discuss any of this.

The Dodgers express rolled on Monday night, welcoming themselves to Toronto with a 14-5 mauling of the Blue Jays for their fourth straight victory. The season high for runs by the Dodgers brought their run differential into the black at 389 runs scored and 388 runs allowed.

It's the first time the Dodgers have had a positive run differential since April 14.

The Dodgers improved to 51-47, a season best four games over .500 and temporarily tied for first place with the Diamondbacks in the National League West. Arizona is currently hosting the Matt Garza-less Cubs in Phoenix.

The Dodgers scored 14 runs in a game for the first time since scoring 15 at home against the Pirates on Sept. 18, 2011.

For the second day in a row the Dodgers batted around in the second inning. After Blue Jays starter Josh Johnson retired the first four batters of the game, he allowed four runs in the frame, including a double by Andre Ethier and a home run by A.J. Ellis.

Ethier doubled twice against Johnson, and in his career is 10-for-17 (.588) with four doubles against the right-hander. That gave Ethier 20 doubles on the season, the eight consecutive season he has reached that plateau, making him just the seventh Dodger ever to do so. Ethier is the only Dodger in franchise history with 30 or more doubles in six consecutive seasons.

Ellis also singled home a run in the third inning, which ended up the final frame for Johnson. The Blue Jays right-hander faced three batters in the third inning and didn't retire any of them before he was removed. That made two straight games the Dodgers knocked out the starting pitcher after recording six or fewer outs, the first time they have done that since beating Omar Olivares and Juan Acevedo on May 5 and May 6, 1995.

The last time the Dodgers knocked out back-to-back starters that early outside of Coors Field came when they battered Randy Jones and Dave Roberts of the Mets on May 15 and May 16, 1981.

Ellis continued his barrage with RBI singles in sixth and seventh innings, and set new career highs with four hits, three runs scored and five runs batted in. Ellis has driven in 18 runs in his last 17 games, hitting .310/.351/.479 during that span.

Skip Schumaker, one of six Dodgers with at least two hits, got into the act with a towering three-run home run down the right field line in the seventh inning. It was his first home run as a Dodger and his first home run since Sept. 3, 2012, after a span of 273 plate appearances without.

Mark Ellis was 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI to continue his stellar road trip, during which he is hitting .533 (8-for-15).

Carl Crawford went 3-for-5 and is 7-for-12 since his post-DL slump.

Hanley Ramirez went 2-for-5, which seems like the norm these days.

The offense made a winner out of Hyun-jin Ryu, who allowed nine hits but managed to mitigate the damage to an extent. He allowed two runs in the first five innings, then two more after he left with one out in the sixth.

The offense was so good, it overshadowed a pair of great catches at the wall, one by Crawford in left field and another by Yasiel Puig in right center field.

Up next

Chris Capuano, who seems like someone who should be an ex-Blue Jay, gets the call for the Dodgers in the middle game of the series on Tuesday night as the Dodgers look to win their fifth straight game. Todd Redmond, the 28-year-old with 20 major league innings under his belt, gets the start for Toronto.

Monday particulars

Home runs: A.J. Ellis (5), Skip Schumaker (1)

WP - Hyun-jin Ryu (8-3): 5⅓ IP, 9 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts

LP - Josh Johnson (1-6): 2+ IP, 7 hits, 5 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

So in the normal stuff that happened today. . .

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs fell to the New Orleans Zephyrs (Marlins), 9-2 in a game that ended after seven innings because of rain.

Starter Nick Struck took the loss after he allowed seven runs on ten hits over five innings. If you're looking for positives, he struck out four and didn't walk anyone.

Shortstop Donnie Murphycracked a solo home run in the third inning, his twelfth of the season. Murphy was 1 for 4.

First baseman Brad Nelson was 2 for 3 with a double. He scored the other Iowa run in the fourth inning.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies were blinded by the Jacksonville Suns (Marlins), 5-4.

Another strong start for Kyle Hendricks, who pitched the first seven innings and gave up only four hits and two unearned runs in the sixth inning. Hendricks struck out six and didn't walk anyone.

Hendricks left in line for the win, but Zach Rosscup coughed up the lead when he allowed a three-run home run in the eighth inning. Rosscup pitched two-thirds of an inning and allowed three hits and one walk. He struck out one.

First baseman Justin Bour hit a solo home run in the fourth inning, his tenth of the season. Bour was 2 for 4.

Catcher Rafael Lopez went 2 for 4 with an RBI single in the third and a two-run double in the fourth.

John Andreoli was 2 for 3 with a double and a walk. He scored once. Rubi Silva was 2 for 4 and touched home once.

Daytona Cubs

Rained out. Honestly, they needed a day off. But this means a double-header tomorrow and let's see if they can finish it before 12:50am this time.

Kane County Cougars

The Kane County Cougars got stuck by the Lansing Lugnuts (Blue Jays), 5-2.

Juan Paniagua started and gave up three runs on five hits over 3.1 innings. One of the three runs was unearned. (It was his error though. He made two, both on pickoff throws.) Paniagua walked three and struck out four.

The Cougars had six total hits, five singles and a double by DH Rock Shoulders, who was 1 for 5. Second baseman Gioskar Amaya was 0 for 2 with two walks.

Boise Hawks

The Boise Hawks won their second straight game by a blowout shutout, 10-0 over the Everett AquaSox (Mariners). Boise has now won nine of their last ten games.

Rob Zastryzny started and pitched two shutout innings, extending his scoreless streak to start his career to eight innings. He gave up one hit but erased him in a double play, so he faced the minimum six batters. Zastryzny struck out one.

Sam Wilson relieved Zastryznyand since Zastryzny didn't go five, Wilson was awarded his first professional win. Wilson didn't allow a hit. He did walk one batter, but he was thrown out stealing, so he faced the minimum too. Wilson struck out four.

Zach Godley, Scott Frazier and Tyler Bremer finished out the game and a three-hit shutout.

All nine starting Hawks had a hit tonight. First baseman Jacob Rogers hit a solo home run in the seventh inning, his fourth of the season.

DH Lance Rymel went 2 for 5 with a double. He scored one run and had one RBI. Second baseman Danny Lockhart was 2 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored.

Catcher Cael Brockmeyer was 2 for 4 with two runs scored and one batted in.

Third baseman Jordan Hankins went 2 for 4 with one RBI and one run scored. Shortstop Carlos Penalver was 2 for 4 and scored twice.

Neither Shawon Dunston Jr. or David Bote played in this game after they collided in the outfield yesterday. However, they are expected to be back tomorrow.

AZL Cubs

Beat the Royals, 2-1.

Both Cubs runs were driven in by Kris Bryant who was 1 for 3 with a sac fly and an RBI double. Both Cubs runs were scored by David DeJesus, who went 2 for 4 with a double.

Here's what we have for you from around the internet on all things baseball and sabermetrics for Tuesday morning.

Previously on Beyond the Box Score

• MLB Trade Rumor Analysis: Bud Norris by Mike Mulvenna - Beyond the Box Score

The trade deadline continues to loom large. While much of the gossip and speculation has centered recently around Matt Garza, if and when the Cubs move the big righty, one Astros pitcher might vault to near the top of many teams' wish lists. Mike explains further.

• The Key to John Lackey's 2013 Success by Alex Skillin - Beyond the Box Score Fanpost

Fanposts are a sometimes forgotten but nonetheless great aspect to the BTBS site. In this piece, the Alex, a new addition to the BTBS crew, takes a look at the recently horrible John Lackey, whose turnaround in 2013 has been a big part of the Red Sox resurgence.

• .300 Hitters Becoming Rare by Sam the Minuteman - Beyond the Box Score Fanpost

A topic of concern to some, but of interest to most this season has been the increase in strikeouts in the last few seasons. In this piece, the author looks at what could be a byproduct of that trend, the lack of hitters with batting averages over .300 in comparison to recent history.

Around the Sabersphere

• Stats 101: Why It's Time to Re-Educate Players in Meaningful Statistics by Gabe Kapler - WEEI

Both Dave Cameron of Fangraphs and our own Ken Woolums mentioned this piece by former Red Sox outfielder Gabe Kapler. Kapler writes not about how teams evaluate players, but the manner in which the players evaluate their own performances. If the people making the decisions on player movement and development see everything in color and the players continue to see themselves in black and white, maybe something needs to change.

• Baseball Therapy: The High-Pitch-Count Hangover by Russell A. Carleton - Baseball Prospectus

One major topic on the mind of all those involved in baseball is that of pitchers health and effectiveness. In this week's therapy session, Russell takes a look at the possibility that throwing too many pitches in one start might negatively affect the same pitcher's performance in his next start.

• R.A. Dickey Loses Zip On His Knuckler by David Golebiewski - Baseball Analytics

Ah good ole' R.A. Dickey. He hasn't made much news since the offseason, but that may be due to his distinct change in performance from last season's Cy Young Award winning campaign. Dickey's a knuckler, and the Blue Jays bet two high-level prospects on that knuckleball, but as David shows, the knuckler isn't paying dividends.

Around SB Nation

• Adding Sabathia to the List of Yankees' Problems by Rob Neyer - Baseball Nation

Sunday Night the baseball world watched as C.C. Sabathia got pretty well crushed by the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Sabathia hasn't had a typical C.C. year thus far, and Rob looks into why that might be.

• Miami Marlins Held Scoreless for 37 Consecutive Innings and Counting by Michael Jong - Fish Stripes

The Mariners and Astros had an interesting game Saturday that only bred more ignominy on an Astros team that most considered reasonably dead in the water at the outset of the season. Their NL counterpart is the Miami Marlins, and the Fish made some ignominious news recently, even worse than losing 4-2 on one hit.

Outside the Sabersphere

• The Most Important Day of the 21^st Century by Peter Gleick - National Geographic

This is plain and simple just a cool article. Global population growth is slowing, and at this rate, it will eventually stop. How might that affect everything we know, think, and plan for?

The Miami Marlins will select the contracts of outfielders Christian Yelich and Jake Marisnick on Tuesday, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. The top prospects will replace outfielder Marcell Ozuna and second baseman Derek Dietrich, who were optioned to Double-A Jacksonville. Because Yelich and Marisnick are not currently on the team's 40-man roster, the team will have to clear two spots. While some have speculated that Alex Sanabia and Casey Kotchman could be headed for the 60-day disabled list (which clears 40-man roster space), it is possible that Miami will either trade or designate players for assignment to clear room.

Yelich, 21, was Miami's first round pick (23rd overall) in the 2010 draft and has risen quickly through the organization in his four seasons as a professional. Heading into the season, he was ranked by Baseball America as the fifteenth best prospect in baseball, and the second best in the Marlins' system. In 48 games with Double-A Jacksonville this season, he hit .277 with 7 HR and 29 RBI, and represented the Marlins in last week's All-Star Futures Game.

Marisnick, 22, was one of seven players the Marlins acquired in last winter's blockbuster trade that sent Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle and Jose Reyes to the Toronto Blue Jays. He was ranked by Baseball America as the fourth best prospect in the Marlins' system heading into the year, and the 64th overall in the game. In 66 games with Jacksonville, Marisnick hit .295 with 12 HR and 46 RBI.

While these moves won't cause the Marlins to become instant contenders in 2013, they signify that the organization is recognizing that their bright future is close to coming to fruition. Out of the top seven prospects ranked by Baseball America before the season, five (Jose Fernandez, Yelich, Marisnick, Ozuna and Adeiny Hechavarria) have already reached the majors. Lefties Andrew Heaney and Justin Nicolino round out the top seven, and will be contributors to the major league team in the next few years.

When the Blue Jays’ Munenori Kawasaki stepped up to the plate against the Orioles’ T.J. McFarland on May 23, 2013, something that had never happened in the history of Major League Baseball occurred: a matchup between a batter wearing #66 against a pitcher wearing #66. A little over a month later, the same thing happened for the first time in the National League when the Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig faced off against the Phillies’ J.C. Ramirez.

Unlike hockey, for example, uniform numbers higher than #60 are rarely issued in baseball. Those issued those numbers in spring training tended to be fringe players or young prospects who would most likely be cut. And most of the ones who actually make the team would opt to change to a lower number, especially position players, who tend to wear lower numbers than pitchers.

That makes #66 a rare number to appear on the back of a major league player’s jersey. A pitcher--and tenor--named "Crooning" Joe Cascarella of the Red Sox wore it for the first time in 1935 (all uniform number information was gathered from Baseball-Reference). Other than Cascarella, only three other players wore the number between 1935 and 1981, one of them being the White Sox’s Gerry Staley, who proudly sported the numbers for six seasons from 1956 to 1961. No one has yet to wear #66 for as many seasons as Staley. During that time, he was the only one in baseball to wear the number. In fact, we have to fast forward to 1981 before there was a season where two different players wore #66 when the Expos’ Bryn Smith and Yankees’ Steve Balboni donned it. Smith dropped the number after 1981, but Balboni wore it through the 1983 season.

Juan Guzman was perhaps the player most Blue Jays fans associated with the double-sixes before this season. The Jheri-curled hurler had #66 in the Jays’ split lettering on his back from his debut in 1991 until 1995, when he decided to switch to #57 after a difficult season. Even though had it for five seasons, he did not face a single batter during that time who wore #66—five other players wore it between 1991-1995 (Blas Minor, Doug R. Davis, Ben Shelton, Jeff Ballard, and Todd Williams) and three were pitchers, one was a National League player, and another only played one game wearing #66.

Logan Ondrusek, relief pitcher for the Reds, has worn #66 for longer than any active player, having worn it every year since 2010. Incidentally, 2010 also began a big spike in the number of major league players wearing #66. Last season featured the most ever, with nine different players around the league putting it on their backs. So far in 2013, there have been eight players who have worn #66: Ondrusek, Kawsaki, McFarland, Puig, Ramirez, Josh Edgin, Victor Marte, and most recently Drake Britton.

Still, baseball fans had to wait until 2013 before being able to witness a #66 pitching to a #66. That happened in the Rogers Centre on May 23 in the bottom of the seventh inning when Munenori Kawasaki (who switched from #61 this season) faced rookie T.J. McFarland. Kawasaki grounded out to end the inning. Looking back at the footage on MLB.tv, one can see the home plate umpire tossing the first pitch (which was in the dirt) out of play--maybe one day we will see that ball in Cooperstown. Blue Jays colour commentator Pat Tabler mentioned in passing that he has never seen this (a #66 vs #66) matchup before--and he's right, because it has never happened before.

Kawasaki would go 0-for-2 against McFarland in the game. The pair faced each other again exactly a month later, when Kawasaki went 0-for-3.

Interestingly, for something that hadn't happened in the 106-(or so) year history of jersey numbers in the major leagues, another pitcher-batter pair did it just a little over a month after the first event. The Dodgers’ Cuban sensation called Yasiel Puig made his big league debut on June 3, wearing #66. Just 25 games into his career, on June 29, he flew out against J.C. Ramirez, a rookie himself in his third major league game.

That means that batters wearing #66 are now 0-for-4 overall against pitchers wearing #66. Kawasaki and Puig are the only #66-wearing players so far this season, and since Kawasaki is now playing in AAA, Puig carries the burden of getting that first hit. He will get a chance next series against the Reds and Logan Ondrusek. If not then, he might face Victor Marte and the Cardinals in early August, then Josh Edgin and the Mets in mid-August, then Drake Britton and the Red Sox in late August. That is assuming no more roster moves--something that is not always guaranteed, especially for someone wearing #66.

Today's lineup:

7/23 @BlueJays lineup vs @Dodgers Reyes SS Cabrera LF Bautista RF Encarnacion 1B Lind DH DeRosa 3B Davis CF Arencibia C Lawrie 2B Redmond P

— MLBLineups (@mlblineups) July 23, 2013

So, it looks like Jose Bautista gets what he wanted, out of the two hole. To me, well if it makes a player more comfortable to hit in a particular spot in the order, why not put him there. If Jose feels it has to do something different (which he shouldn't) because he's batting second, then he might be better off batting third. Or at least it is a convenient excuse for why he's been slumping.

Back in the old days, I thought that Devon White batting lead off was a terrible idea, but then, Devon hit far better in that spot than he had hit for the Angels. So, while Molitor or Alomar or Olerud might have been a better choice to bat in that spot, if it made White a better hitter than he would have been hitting somewhere else, then it more than makes up for it.

If Jose is more comfortable batting third, if he hits a little better there, then, even if the two spot is the 'right' place for him, we might be better with him third. As much as we'd like to try to forget it, players are people and they have their own biases that are hard to get past.

I do think that John Gibbons should have explained to Bautista that, even though he was batting second, they didn't want him to change his approach at the plate. That they didn't want him to bat like a number 2 guy, they'd like him to forget where he was batting. Maybe he did, maybe it didn't take.

The team is having a 'player's only meeting' at the moment. Wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall for that? It must be a lot of fun and a lot of finger pointing. Mostly at Dirk Hayhurst, I'd imagine.

There's no better place than home, yet the Dodgers are getting very comfortable beyond the confines of Chavez Ravine. The boys in blue have won eight straight road contests, one shy of the franchise best since moving to Southern California. In 1963, 1970, 1977 and 2004, the Dodgers strung together nine successive road victories. Meanwhile, outside of Los Angeles, the 2013 ball club has clawed its way back .500 at 24-24.

Chris Capuano will attempt to match history with another road win. The recent performances by Capuano epitomize the Dodgers season, featuring great moments and disastrous moments. After providing consistent production in 2012, the current Capuano resembles a roller coaster. Capuano hasn't allowed any runs in three of his previous five starts, but gave up five runs in the other two outings.

Above the border, the Toronto Blue Jays are searching for their first triumph since the All-Star break. Todd Redmond gets the nod for the Blue Jays, and stands in at 1-1 with a 4.32 ERA. The 6'3", 215-pound right-hander sports a mere six appearances, and normally comes out of the bullpen.

Asking Redmond to stop the hottest team in the National League could be overwhelming. However, the task may be slightly easier because Matt Kemp will sit out.

At the start of Tuesday's action, the Dodgers are in sole possession of first place in the NL West for the first time since April 2.

Game info

Time: 4:07 p.m.

TV: KCAL

MLB Gameday

The St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox are emerging as two of the most serious suitors for Chicago White Sox' right-hander Jake Peavy, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Now that the 32-year old has returned from injury, the South Siders are expected to push hard to trade him before the July 31st deadline.

Heyman notes that many other teams are expected to be interested in Peavy, who is 7-4 with a 4.19 ERA in twelve starts on the season. The Nationals, Pirates and Rockies are among the teams who could pursue a deal in the next week, and the Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Yankees and Orioles were among the teams with scouts in attendance for Peavy's last start. Baltimore is considered an unlikely destination because their lack of financial flexibility, and FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal says that the D-Backs are not pursuing Peavy.

Now that Matt Garza has been taken off the trade market, Peavy looks like the top pitcher available on the trade market and will draw significant interest in the next week. If the White Sox do decide to deal him, they will likely receive a package larger than the four prospect haul that the Cubs got for Garza. Unlike Garza, who is a free agent after the season, Peavy is under contract for next season as well, meaning that teams will get a year and a half of his services if they are to acquire him.

As Heyman says, the Cardinals' interest in Peavy is surprising due to their deep starting rotation, but makes sense after the team's failed pursuit of Garza. Boston's interest is likely dependent on the health of Clay Buchholz, who is now likely to stay on the shelf until late August or early September. With their division lead slipping away, the Sox are almost guaranteed to add pitching before the deadline. They are known to be in on both starters and relievers, and a move is considered extremely likely.

The Dodgers overcame an awful start to the season, and used their experience in precarious situations to overcome Tuesday's five run deficit, defeating the Blue Jays 10-9. Adrian Gonzalez crushed a three run home run in the top of the eighth inning, giving Los Angeles their first lead at 9-8.

Chris Capuano put the team in a major divot, even though he didn't allow any hits until the third inning, which is quite deceiving. From the opening pitch, Capuano lacked command and battled a high pitch count. Despite lasting a mere 4 1/3 innings, Capuano tossed 90 pitches and allowed five runs.

Blue Jays starting pitcher Todd Redmond flew under the radar amidst the chaos. Redmond tallied 5 2/3 innings and allowed only two runs with six strikeouts.

Both ball clubs exchanged blows throughout the evening, and the heart of the Blue Jays offense helped deliver the games first runs. Jose Reyes crushed a RBI double to deep left center field, giving Toronto the 1-0 lead. Jose Bautista followed it up with a RBI single up the middle, extending the advantage to 2-0.

The boys in blue struck right back in the top of the fourth. Andre Either blasted a RBI ground rule double, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Mark Ellis immediately proceeded with a RBI single, knotting it up at two.

The tie didn't last more than one commercial break. Mark DeRosa drilled an opposite field solo home run to begin the fourth, helping the Blue Jays regain the 3-2 lead. Brett Lawrie, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI, hit a routine sacrifice fly to place the cushion at 4-2.

By the sixth frame, the Blue Jays were up 5-2 after Jose Bautista massacred a solo home run in the fifth. Surprisingly, utility man Jerry Hairston Jr. nailed a solo HR, making it 5-3.

Meanwhile, Carlos Marmol's awful debut almost signaled the end of the Dodgers eight game road winning streak. Marmol pitched 1 2/3 innings and surrendered three runs, with the majority of damage via Jose Reyes two-run long ball. By the end of the Marmol experiment, the Dodgers were down 8-3 heading into the seventh inning.

Once Marmol departed, two offensive explosions propelled the Dodgers ahead. The comeback started with Andre Ethier earning a RBI on a walk. Ethier ended up going 2-for with three RBI, and continues to knock the cover off the ball. Mark Ellis hard nosed approach paid off again with a RBI double, trimming the margin back to only two runs.

Brandon League returned to meaningful duties, and deserves major kudos for pitching a clean eighth inning and keeping the Dodgers alive. By doing so, League earned the win.

The star power of the Dodgers took care of the rest. Carl Crawford singled to begin the eighth, Yasiel Puig walked, and then Gonzalez hit the three run shot heard around every Canadian province.

Puig began to display improved plate discipline, tallying a 2-for-3 performance and one walk. Puig had two infield hits to third base, and beat out the throws with his un-canny speed. Ethier added insurance with a solo bomb, expanding the advantage to 10-8. The rally happened at the expense of 20-year veteran reliever Darren Oliver.

Kenley Jansen came on for the save, and nearly blew it all. J.P. Arencibia knocked in Adam Lind on a single, giving the Blue Jays a glimmer of hope. Following the Arencibia RBI, Jansen settled down and finally shut the door.

The Dodgers embody the saying of: "when the going gets tough, the tough get going."

Up Next

The Dodgers go for the sweep the series over the Blue Jays Wednesday. Ricky Nolasco will try to extend the teams road winning streak to 10, which would be the franchise best since moving to Los Angeles. Dominican pitcher Esmil Rogers has the responsibility of ending the Blue Jays five game losing streak.

Tuesday's particulars

Home runs: Mark DeRosa (6) Jose Bautista (23) Jerry Hairston Jr. (2) Jose Reyes (5) Adrian Gonzalez (15) Andre Ethier (7)

WP - Brandon League (4-3): .2 IP, 1 hit, 1 strikeout

LP - Darren Oliver (3-2): 1 IP, 3 hits, 4 runs, 2 strikeouts, 1 walk

Sv - Kenley Jansen (12): 1 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk

Dodgers 10 Blue Jays 9

That was just hard to believe.

The bullpen has been so good this year that we should forgive a bad game. But we really needed this one.

I wish Gibby would have gone to Juan Perez in the 8th instead of Darren Oliver, but that's hindsight.

We were up 8-3 after 6. Things looked good. Todd Redmond was pretty good, he went 5.2, gave up 7 hits, 3 earned, 1 walk with 6 k.

Brett Cecil came in and got out of the 6th inning for us, but then, in the 7th, he gave up 2 singles and 2 walks, giving up a run and loading the bases with one out. Gibby brought Dustin McGowan in. Dustin gave up a single, to allow 2 more runs, and hit a batter, to load the bases again. Dustin got a strikeout before a hard ground ball hit him, he lost it for a moment, picked it up and flipped to J.P. Arencibia at the plate, to just barely get the 3rd out. A really nice job on both ends.

Then came the 8th. Darren Oliver, working his second day in a row, gave up a single to Carl Crawford and a Yasiel Puig walk. Then homers from Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Ethier gave the Dodger a 2-run lead, their first lead of the night. And that was the game.

Oh, we got a base runner in the bottom of the 8th, but Jose Bautista struck out. And, in the 9th, Adam Lind hit a ground rule double, Maicer Izturis walks and J.P. Arencibia hit a hard 2-out single to make it a 1-run game with the tying run at 2nd and the winning run at first, but Brett Lawrie hit a fly ball to the track. He just missed it.

Offensively we had a pretty good day, for a change:

• J.P.: 3 for 5 with a double.
• Jose Reyes: 2 for 5, with a double and a homer.
• Jose Bautista: 2 for 4, walk, homer.
• Rajai Davis: 2 for 5, with a steal.
• Lawrie: 2 for 4.
• Mark DeRosa: 1 for 2, walk, homer.

The only Blue Jay starter not to hit was Melky Cabrera. He's had some bad swings the last couple of days. Maybe he has other things on his mind.

Jays of the Day are JP (.138 WPA), Bautista (.130), DeRosa (.121) and Reyes (.109).

Suckage: Oliver (-.689) and Lawrie (-.155), but Brett's was hardly fair, since he had a pretty good game. The fly out at the end cost him.

We had the usual Blue Jay moments: Maicer was thrown out stealing, I think Rajai missed a hit and run sign. After that Rajai singled, stole second and went to third on the catcher's throwing error. And DeRosa had a couple of interesting moments on defense at third base.

We still haven't won since...when we it, May? Actually July 13th. 6 straight losses. No wonder I'm in such a crappy mood. Once again, I'm going to go drink.

We had 1,069 comment from 41 members in the GameThread.

Midseason Fantasy Position Rankings

In case you missed our Midseason Fantasy Position Rankings, here are links to each of our rankings published thus far. Our Consensus Shortstop rankings published on Tuesday morning, and we follow that with our Outfielder rankings on Thursday and our Starting Pitcher rankings on Friday.

• 2013 Midseason Position Rankings: Shortstop
• 2013 Midseason Position Rankings: Third Base
• 2013 Midseason Position Rankings: Second Base
• 2013 Midseason Position Rankings: First Base
• 2013 Midseason Position Rankings: Catcher

Fake Teams Podcast, Episode 20: Who says "Drat"?

Zack and Andrew hosted episode 20 of the Fake Teams podcast on Sunday night, and discussed the call ups of Jonathan Villar and Junior Lake, compared Jason Kipnis and Dustin Pedroia along with their analysis of the Fake Teams Consensus Second Base Rankings.

You can listen to the podcast via MP3 and ITunes:

MP3

ITunes

Dear Mr. Fantasy Podcast

I made an appearance on the Dear Mr. Fantasy podcast on Monday night hosted by Chris McBrien and The Fantasy Doctor. We discussed lots of players on the podcast including Giancarlo Stanton vs Byron Buxton in a dynasty league, Felix Hernandez vs Madison Bumgarner, and many other players. I even defended my ranking of Brian McCann as my 2nd ranked fantasy catcher for the rest of the season.

You can listen to the Dear Mr. Fantasy podcast here.

Devin Mesoraco; Showing signs of growth at the plate

When drafting young catchers, especially in keeper leagues, patience is a must. Not many catchers can burst onto the major league scene and hit like Buster Posey, even if they were the best catching prospect in baseball the year before. The reasons are many, but one of the big ones is the that catchers have so much to learn besides hitting. They need to learn the tendencies of each pitcher on their staff, they need to learn the tendencies of every hitter on the opposing team, and be the "quarterback" on the field.

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco disappointed Reds fans and fantasy owners last season, but is starting to show some of his potential at the plate. On Tuesday, Mesoraco went 3-4 with a HR and 3 RBI in the Reds 9-3 win over the Giants. Mesoraco has homered in two straight games now and is now hitting .261-.329-.410 with 6 HRs, 10 doubles, 19 runs and 26 RBI in 188 at bats this season. In July, he is hitting .366 with a .422 OBP, 2 HRs and 7 RBI in 41 at bats. Is this the turning point for Mesoraco? Time will tell.

For more on Mesoraco, and the Reds, make sure you check out Red Reporter, SB Nation's Reds fan site.

Christian Yelich impresses in major league debut

The Marlins called up top prospect Christian Yelich yesterday, and he quieted his critics (me) by going 3-4 with 2 RBI in his major league debut vs the Rockies. Yelich batted second in the Marlins lineup and played left field, while outfield prospect Jake Marisnick plated center field and batted sixth. Yelich has some pop, but I wouldn't expect much from him in the power department, but I do expect him to hit pretty well (he is off to a good start) and steal some bags as well.

For more on the Yelich debut, make sure you check out Fish Stripes, SB Nation's Marlins fan site.

Round'em Up

Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval has been a big disappointment this season, for Giants fans as well as his fantasy owners. Sandoval is hitting just .263-.313-.394 with 9 HRs, 32 runs and 46 RBI in 82 games thus far. He is on pace for just 15 HRs and 75 RBI which will hurt his fantasy value heading into 2014. He will need to go on a hot streak over the last two+ months to improve his value by the end of the season,

Pirates starter Gerrit Cole showed off some of his potential last night, as he limited the Nationals to just one run on just two hits, a walk and four strikeouts in the Pirates 5-1 win. Cole needed just 92 pitches to get through seven innings, moved his record to 5-3 with a 3.51 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and a 29-10 strikeout to walk rate in 48.2 innings in his 8 starts since his call up.

I have to say i am pleasantly surprised with the power we have seen from Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez this season. AGonz went 2-4 with a HR, walk, 3 runs and 3 RBI in the Dodgers come from behind 10-9 win over the Blue Jays last night. Gonzalez is now hitting .300-.354-.483 with 15 HRs, 45 runs and 62 RBI this season. He is on pace for 25 HRs and 100+ RBI, with an improved power stroke this season.

I recently traded Rangers prospect Jurickson Profar ($5 salary this season, $10 next season) for a $15 Glen Perkins in my AL only keeper league. I was desperate for some saves, and felt Profar was the right price to pay. Plus, I am beginning to feel that Profar may be a better baseball player than fantasy player. I know it is too soon to judge, but he is hitting just .238-.315-.340 with 3 HRs, 12 runs, 11 RBI and zero stolen bases in three attempts in 147 at bats this season. Profar has alot to offer for fantasy owners, but I am playing for this season, and had enough offense that I could deal him for a category of need.

Did I give up too much for Perkins?

More from Fake Teams:

• Risers and Fallers for Week 16: Mark Melancon, Colby Rasmus and Others
• Marlins Call Ups: Christian Yelich and Jake Marisnick
• Roto Roundup: Ryan Braun, Matt Garza, Christian Yelich and Others
• Buyer or Seller? What Kind of Trade Partner Are You?
• 2013 Midseason Position Rankings: Shortstop
• Fantasy Fallout: Garza Trade Fantasy Impact
• Ryan Braun screws his fantasy owners